On May 1, 1703 Peter the Great took the Swedish fortress of Nyenskans and the city Nyen on the Neva river. On May 27, 1703 (May 16, Old Style) he founded Saint Petersburg after reconquering the Ingrian land from Sweden in the Great Northern War. He named the city after his patron saint, the apostle Saint Peter. The original name Sankt Pieterburg (pronounced Sankt Piterburh) was borrowed from Dutch (Modern Dutch Sint-Petersburg), because Peter had lived and studied in the Netherlands; he also spent three months in Britain and was influenced by his experience in the rest of Europe.[4]
The city was built under adverse weather and geographical conditions. High mortality rate required a constant supply of workers. Peter ordered a yearly conscription of 40,000 serfs, one conscript for every nine to 16 households. Conscripts had to provide their own tools and food for the journey of hundreds of kilometers, on foot, in gangs, often escorted by military guards and shackled to prevent desertion. Many escaped, however, and others died from disease and exposure under the harsh conditions.[4] The new city's first building was the Peter and Paul Fortress, it originally also bore the name of Sankt Pieterburg. It was laid down on Zaiachiy (Hare's) Island, just off the right bank of the Neva, three miles (5 km) inland from the gulf. The marshland was drained and the city spread outward from the fortress under the supervision of German and Dutch engineers whom Peter had invited to Russia. Peter restricted the construction of stone buildings in all of Russia outside of St. Petersburg, so that all stonemasons would come to help build the new city.[5]
At the same time, Peter hired a large number of engineers, architects, shipbuilders, scientists and businessmen from all countries of Europe. Substantial immigration of educated professionals eventually turned St. Petersburg into a much more cosmopolitan city than Moscow and the rest of Russia. Peter's efforts to push for modernization in Moscow and the rest of Russia were completely misunderstood by the old-fashioned Russian nobility and eventually failed. This resulted in considerable opposition, including several attempts on his life and a treason case involving his own son.[6]
Peter moved the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg in 1712, nine years before the Treaty of Nystad. It was a seaport and also a base for Peter's navy, protected by the fortress of Kronstadt (literally 'Crown City'). The first person to build a home in St. Petersburg was Cornelis Cruys, commander of the Baltic Fleet. Inspired by Venice and Amsterdam, Peter the Great proposed boats and coracles as means of transport in his city of canals. Initially there were only 12 permanent bridges over smaller waterways, while the Bolshaya Neva was crossed by boats in the summertime and by foot or horse carriages during winter. A pontoon bridge over the Neva was built every summer. Today there are more than 800 bridges.
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